MetLife Investment Management LLC Purchases 3,128 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 193,539 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,128 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $24,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in United Parcel Service by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,304,000 after buying an additional 28,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UPS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on United Parcel Service in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $119.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on United Parcel Service from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Galvan Research decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of United Parcel Service from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.70.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS traded down $0.16 during trading on Monday, hitting $96.27. 3,928,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,826,903. The company has a market capitalization of $82.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.55 and a 1-year high of $153.42. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $110.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.36.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.04%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.